Morhaime: 'Nothing wrong' with crates for randomised items

Loot boxes are always in the news these days, from Star Wars Battlefront II to Call of Duty WWII, and now Blizzard president and co-founder Mike Morhaime has talked about Overwatch's loot boxes in an interview with GameInformer, saying that he doesn't believe Overwatch loot boxes fit into this recent controversy.

When asked about his philosophy on loot boxes, Morhaime asked specifically whether this was in regards to gambling, but when it was clarified that this just meant loot boxes that give you random items when you open them, he said: "I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with crates that give you randomised items. I think that whatever the controversy is, I don't think Overwatch belongs in that controversy."

When asked about pay-to-win crates, he also said that this isn't something Overwatch does. "Well, it's definitely something we've avoided. I think another element, in terms of the gambling question, the question in terms of that is whether or not you're actually... There's an element of converting back into real-world value. I think that's a critical element, and that element does not exist in Overwatch loot crates."

"If you're going to talk about those things, then you have to look at as, 'Well, are people trying to make money doing this?'," he added.

Do you agree that Overwatch loot boxes don't fit with the recent controversy?